How nice was it to have a holiday in the middle of the week?!  Our little firecracker made it memorable.  We decorated her wagon and headed to downtown Apex, NC for their little kid-friendly festival and parade.

Two of Charlotte’s BFF’s, Cadence and Josh, joined her for the parade.  I use the term loosely as it’s really a stroll down the block among hundreds of other kids with their faces painted.  It’s cute, really.  It’s tailor-made for toddlers and preschoolers as it’s held between 9am-noon.

Among the hundreds of star-spangled tots were their equally patriotic parents.  I was amused at the crowd and the similarities in our parental paraphanalia.

Almost every parent had some or all of the following:

• A decorated Radio Flyer Wagon-  Many had the identical streamers and star stickers I found at Target.  I did not upgrade to the glitter star door-hanger from the store’s 4th display, but the more enthusiastic parents had several of them.
• A yuppie jogging stroller- This seemed acceptable to have in lieu of the Radio Flyer.  Particularly if your older child was riding their tricycle in the parade while one parent waited with the infant in the stroller.
• Diaper bag or backpack- Stocked with Goldfish or some organic snack that wouldn’t melt in the sun.
• Sippy cup-  Each had the child’s name on it in the form of a silicone band or dishwasher-safe sticker.
• Expensive DSLR camera- The parent in no way had mastered all its features.
• iPhone-  To take pictures with instead of the DSLR.  Some pictures had to be uploaded to Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/Tumbler/Foursquare etc.  I mean, are our children really doing something if we don’t put it on the Internet?
• Overpriced sunscreen- No doubt from Target.

Poor Miss Charlotte only made it halfway down the block when she saw Daddy and started crying and reaching for him.  She was smiling and waving up until then.

I was so happy strolling in all that silliness.  I mean, we are in a country where we have the freedom to raise our children however we choose.  There are women in other parts of the world who can’t relay the ups and downs of parenthood or spout their opinions on the Internet everyday.  I do.

Today I happily celebrated my freedom by participating in social media.   Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Oh, that’s right.  I have a blog.  My bad.  We’ve been busy.  We’re in Washington D.C. for my sister and brother-in-law’s graduation with their Masters’ Degrees.  We are having an awesome time an I swear I’ll share all our shenanigans when we get home.

In the meantime, take a cue from Charlotte and take time to enjoy your socks, or Daddy’s socks.  Whatever.

August was the start of my 30th year.  On my birthday I woke up and walked the beach quietly, ready to start a new decade of my life.  Later that morning Greyson and I  bought cinnamon buns from a local bakery.  That day we laid in the sand and played with our baby.

Ahhh!  Hello 30!

A decision I made yesterday will mean the start of 31 will be completely different.  I signed up for the BlogHer ’12 5K on the morning of my birthday this year.

Now let me be clear.  For most of my life I would only ever run if someone were chasing me.  I hate to run.  It’s boring to me.  I would rather go to the dentist than run.  I would pick cleaning the house over jogging.  I would do math before I…okay wait, never mind.

Maybe it’s because I’m on this big life improvement kick, but for some reason the other day I told Greyson I was going to go for a run.  He looked up at me and said with surprise, “Really?  Okay!”  I gotta tell you.  It felt good.

Maybe it’s the new breath of life I’ve felt since starting a new job, but I’m psyched for a lot of things.  I signed up to go to BlogHer ’12.  It’s one of the world’s biggest blogging conferences and I’m taking myself and my little blog to New York City to learn from the best.  It’s silly, but I feel like the conference is just a little extra special for me.  IT’S DURING MY BIRTHDAY!  I know turning 31 really isn’t that big of a deal, but this trip is a big deal for me.  I get to go on a big adventure in the big city.  It’s the first birthday I’ve ever spent away from family and friends.  I will miss them, but I want to stretch and grow my abilities to write and reach people.

This also means I will need to stretch and grow my physical fitness before running in this race.  Oh, did I forget to mention it starts at 6:30am?  Yeah, I bet about 2 miles into my birthday run I’ll be longing for the cinnamon roll of the year before.  Aw!  Listen to me!  Choosing the discipline of running over the indulgence of baked goods…someone is becoming a grown up!

Okay readers, I’m in a “bloggy mood.”  You know, I’m just ready to meet new bloggers and find some new favorites to read.  I was psyched to learn about this year’s Ultimate Blog Party.  I’m in!   (I’m a little behind.  Forgive my tardiness on this post.  I know most of you had these done Friday.)

If you’re new here, I’m Amy and I’ve been blogging since 2010 when I got pregnant.  I knew a lot of women had pregnancy blogs so I worried I wasn’t really pregnant in the 21st century if I didn’t chronical every bout of nausea and fetal kick on the Internet.  I kid.  I kid.  I started it really so I would remember everything about my first pregnancy and child birth.  I had no idea this would turn from a hobby to a passion and allow me to meet some awesome people!  It’s become my daughter’s baby book in a way because God knows I’ll never get around to making one of those.

Me, our 1-year-old daughter Charlotte, and my husband Greyson.

A little about me… I’m owning the fact that I’m 30 years old.  (Dirty 30!  Woop! Woop!)  I just started a new career in public relations after eight years in television news.  I was a reporter for the last four and ready for a change.  Here’s the story.  I may be the luckiest woman in history with my 4 1/2 hour childbirth.  Of course that was after more agonizing over baby names than has ever been necessary.  

So let’s get the party started bloggers!  You’ll find me on Twitter @SomebodysParent and this party gave me an excuse to do something I had been putting off.  I made a Facebook page for the blog.  I would appreciate a “like” so I don’t look like a friendless/fanless sap.  Thanks!  Let me know if you’re going to BlogHer 12 this year.  I’m PSYCHED to be going with her, her, her and her.

Happy blogging!

All her life my mom heard how much she looked like her aunt.  At family gatherings when she was young people would say, “You must be Ruth’s girl!”   She would reply with a laugh, “No, I’m Tom’s daughter!”

It really shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise when in the recovery room at the hospital I held my fresh, squishy little newborn and thought, “I just gave birth to my sister’s baby.”  Lots of people look like their aunt, uncle, or grandparent more than a parent.   Charlotte certainly looks like her Aunt Julie.

Last night I had the privilege of hanging out with some fabulous bloggers here in Raleigh.  Gals like Suzanne, Erin, Fadra, Andrea, and Andrea.  I was so happy to see my old college buddy Beth Anne, too!

Fadra was complementing my adorable baby’s big blue eyes.  I thanked her and said I couldn’t take credit for those.  They’re my sister’s eyes.  My eyes are green.  Then Beth Anne stated the obvious in a way I had never thought of.

“Oh yeah!  Charlotte looks like your husband and your sister had a baby together,” she said laughing.

Oh my God!  She’s totally right.

::insert redneck/inbred/North Carolina joke here::

I’m gonna go with a 1997 joke.  “JERRY!  JERRY!”

I mean, eeww, despite the obvious ick-factor,  genetics ARE like that.  My mom texted me this picture the other day as she was flipping through old photo albums.  I put Charlotte’s next to it.

I think everyone wants their baby to look like them, but if my daughter looks like anyone else in the family, I’m glad it’s my sister.  She’s beautiful inside and out, and tomorrow is her birthday.  Happy 28th Baby Sister!  I’m proud of the woman and aunt you’ve become.